Eli Lilly launches Zepbound obesity drug pen with one month of doses

Eli Lilly On Monday, the blockbuster launched a new form of its obesity drug Zepbound, offering a month’s dose in a single pen.

Patients who pay cash can purchase the multi-dose device, called the KwikPen, from the company’s direct-to-consumer website, LillyDirect. Prices start at $299 per month for the lowest dose level.

The pen may be a more convenient option for some patients because it reduces the number of devices they have to use in a month to take the medication. Patients can use a pen to receive their four-week dose of Zepbound.

Currently, patients receiving treatment use a different single-dose auto-injector device every week. Lilly also offers single-dose vials of Zepbound, which require users to draw the medication into a syringe and inject it into themselves.

The announcement comes as Lilly works to build on the initial success of Zepbound, which has seen demand explode since entering the market in late 2023. LillyDirect has been key to Zepbound’s growth, and the launch of a new form of the drug on the platform could attract even more patients.

Zepbound’s rapid growth helped Eli Lilly capture the majority of the weight-loss drug market from rival Novo Nordisk. In the company’s fourth quarter, Zepbound generated $4.2 billion in revenue in the U.S., up 122% from the prior year.

In a statement, Lilly said the Food and Drug Administration approved a label expansion for Zepbound to include the multiple-dose device.

KwikPen is already used for other medications, such as Lilly’s popular diabetes drug Mounjaro.

“As part of our commitment to supporting people living with obesity on their weight management journey, we are introducing a new option with the Zepbound KwikPen, a device that patients around the world and in the United States trust for other Lilly medications,” Ilya Yuffa, president of Lilly USA and Global Customer Capabilities, said in the statement.